1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for forging/extruding a shaped component, for example a shaped component of a gas turbine engine. At least part of the disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for use in automated forging/extruding of a shaped component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Forging is used in a variety of metalworking operations in order to produce shaped components. Typically, a hammer or ram is used to provide a compressive force to a billet of metal (which may be heated) in order to deform the metal into the shape of a die.
Various different types of forging process have been developed to suit the desired properties of the shaped component, for example in terms of size, shape, material properties and required throughput.
In one particular type of forging, which may be referred to as a horizontal split die forging press or as a multiforge, a billet of heated metal is positioned in a forging press, and then a ram is used to strike the billet so as to provide a, typically horizontal, force to press the metal billet into a die. In this way, the shape of the billet deforms so as to take on the shape of the die.
The die pieces in such arrangements experience very high loads during the forging process. This leads to wear of the dies and means that the die (which may include an upper die piece and/or a lower die piece) needs to be replaced once the wear has reached an unacceptable level. Typically, these upper and/or lower die pieces wear more quickly (and thus may require more frequent replacement) than other parts of the apparatus used in the forging process, or indeed in the entire manufacturing process used to produce a component, of which the forging process may be only a part.
The process of changing a die may take a significant amount of time, for example between 2 and 6 hours. During this period, the forging apparatus cannot be used, and so no components can be manufactured.
The dies themselves may be expensive to manufacture. For example, the dies may require relatively expensive heat treatment, such as nitriding, due to the high loads that they experience during use. Expensive tooling, such as carbide tooling, may be required to machine the dies.
Changing dies may result in slight differences in the manufactured components, for example due to manufacturing tolerances of the dies and/or set-up differences.